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Subwoofer location - picture of room attached

Hi folks, I'm currently revamping my 2-channel audio system to make the move to a 5.1 system. The attached picture shows the room. On the right you can see part of where the tv and audio equipment is located. The room is not very large, but one side is open to the small kitchen (the picture was taken from the kitchen view).

Anyway, in the corner where the cocktail table is between the two couches is really the only practical place right now where I would place a subwoofer, and I have no idea how effective of a location that would be. There is no room along the wall where the audio equipment is located. My main speakers are pretty large and do a good job reproducing bass, but I feel that a sub would probably still be a nice addition for movies. The rear surrounds will be going in the ceiling above the sofa on the left side of the picture.

Do you think that under the corner table is a good enough location where it will be worthwhile to add a sub to my system?

Please ask if I should provide more information on the room, system, etc.

The only way to tell is to place a sub there and see how it works. Another possible location would be net to the love seat where the table trays currently are. What type of sub were you looking at getting? Will it be wired or wireless?

I had a feeling that placing the sub there and using it would be the only way to really know, but I was hoping that perhaps my situation was close enough to someone elses that they might have a good idea whether or not this was a good idea.

Right now the plan is a wired sub. When the installers run wire through the ceiling for the surround speakers, they are also going to run a connection down the back wall in the corner so a wired sub can be placed under that table. Right now there are plans for something else next to the love seat, but if the sub sounds way better there, then perhaps that's where it will go. Currently I don't have plans to have wiring run through the wall to that location, though.

I guess I can just try it under the table and if it doesn't work out I can either return it or decide if I want to use the space next to the love seat and make other plans for the furniture that was going to go there. I guess I was mainly trying to see if the corner placement was an obviously bad choice to the point where I shouldn't even bother having wiring run there. If it's possible that it will work, then I'll have the wiring run.

What size restrictions do you have? Also, what's your budget? There are a lot of options out there, especially from the Internet Direct companies. That will give me an idea of what to recommend. The good news is I've reviewed a ton of subwoofers the past 4 years, so I have a lot to choose from.

Also, are you looking for solid bass performance or are you trying to make the windows on your neighbor's house rattle as well as your own Will the sub be for movies and music or just movies? What other equipment do you have? One thing you may want to consider is a throw rug in front of your TV...there are a lot of hard surfaces in your room and it may be overtly bright because of ample reflections and echo.

Greg, as you see from the pictures below, my room is laid out very closely to yours, complete with the doorway in the back right of the picture and my equipment being where yours is.

Could you show me the front of the room?

David and Jerry and a few others helped me decide to get the pair of SVS subs. They are terrific. I went from one big sub to two smaller ones and there is a tremendous difference. Of course budgets and space limited things.

The people at svs, through email and a one hour phone call helped me set up the subs and place the correct setting s in the subs and my surround receiver.
Since the picture was taken I have moved the subs away from the walls and it remarkably sounded better, David’s right you have to play with them. I would say, however, that you want to have the subs as far away from furniture or the wall as possible.

rhythm: A few extra tips for you. All Subwoofers arw not created equally. In general, Subwoofer bass output is non directional. It is usually 80 hZ and lower. It is not good if the Sub is enclosed in a cabinet. The sub needs to breathe into the room. Subwooifers can be Acoustic suspension design (sealed cabinet). Some are passive radiator designs ( these radiators are passive, as they are not wired, but acoustically coupled). When the active driver (s) move, it makes the passive radiators move and it extends the bass response down lower. It is also a very efficient design, meaning it does not need much power to drive the passive radiators.

There are not many Subwoofers today that use A Transmission line design. The way this design works is that it is one of the very few that vents the rear energy from the woofer (s) by traveling thru a folded duct that escapes out the rear which can be a significant improvement to the sound. The one down fall is that you cannot place this design close to the back wall. If you do, the bass will fall off significantly. Some of the brands that made these was Fried Speakers (legendary). Also, DCM Time Windows. These speakers imaged extremely well if placed correctly in your room. Anthony Gramani actually recommennds that a serious Home Theater system should have 4 Subwoofers in the room! There are also ported designs, which are not as popular these days. Rear energy comes out the back, but this design is no where near as sophisticated as Transmission Line loading. Also, don't forget that there are numerous in wall & In ceiling subwoofer systems. Take your pick.